


Forever - Kai Parker - The Vampire Diaries

by faeriemagick



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fanfic, Fluff, Gemini - Freeform, Gemini Coven - Freeform, Mystic Falls (Vampire Diaries), Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23155663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faeriemagick/pseuds/faeriemagick
Summary: When Kai Parker started at Mia’s high school, she did everything she could to find out more about him. But did she bite off more than she could chew?
Relationships: Malachai "Kai" Parker/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. 1989

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Kai Parker started at Mia’s high school, she did everything she could to find out more about him. But did she bite off more than she could chew?

Malachai Parker was always an odd kid. He was good looking, funny, but odd. He didn't have a lot of friends in high school. I remember watching him at lunch break sat alone every day. He never seemed bothered though. He always had his headphones on and music on his Walkman. He sometimes even seemed happy to just be alone. That didn't stop me from trying to become friends with him though. I guess I just never liked to see people lonely. Unfortunately with Kai it wasn't that straightforward. He didn't want to be alone, but he had to be.

—————————————————————————

It was a spring morning in 1989 when I first saw him. I was heading into school in jean shorts and my favourite Nirvana shirt on. I was a high school junior, about to become a senior in a few months time. I guess I was a fairly popular kid. People liked me and I wasn't like most of the popular kids either. I was nice.  
My house was a short walk from school, so I never bothered catching the bus. I enjoyed the walk, especially at this time of year. I popped my headphones on and turned my Walkman up full blast, soaking in the sunshine and bopping my head to some Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I was far to engrossed in what I was listening to, I walked head on into someone. As I crashed into them I fell backwards but felt a hand grab onto my wrist before I hit the ground. As I looked up I was faced with the most handsome boy I had ever seen. He was tall with dark hair and the most amazing grey-blue eyes. I started to apologise but he cut me off suddenly. "Just watch where you're going okay." He huffed, turning to walk away. And that was my first encounter with Kai Parker. But it definitely wouldn't be my last.

——————————————————————————

A few days had passed since I literally bumped into Kai. I'd spent those few days trying to find out a bit more about him but came up pretty empty handed. All I knew was that he was new to my school and he was in the same grade as me. No one knew anything more about him. I even tried to find some info through my friend Amy who often helped as a student receptionist but she drew a blank too. It was at that point I knew I HAD to know this mysterious boy. It would now be my goal to befriend him and find out more about him. Little did I know, making friends with a boy like Kai wouldn't be easy.

That lunch time I saw him again, sat alone in the canteen, eating a sandwich and listening to music the same as he did every day. That was it! Music! That was one thing we clearly had in common. If I could talk to him about music, surely that would open up the conversation and we could get to know each other? I grabbed my tray and headed towards where he was sat. I plonked myself on the bench opposite him and smiled. He didn't move. He looked down at the table, music still blasting out, picking at his sandwich.  
"Hi! I'm Mia! What are you listening to?" I asked. Nothing. I waited a few seconds to see if he'd actually noticed me. Nope.  
"Hello? I just thought I'd come over and say hi as you're sat her on your own. I hope you don't mind. I..."  
He looked up at her and slowly took his headphones off giving her a confused look.  
"What?" He asked, a frown on his face. He clearly hadn't hear a word I had said  
"I said I'm Mia. I just wanted to come and introduce myself."  
"Why?" He grunted, taking a mouthful of sandwich. So rude. But I persisted.  
"I just wondered what music you were listening to?" I quirked, still with a smile on my face. Oldest trick in the book. No one could resist my cute smile.  
"Why?" He repeated. Wow. I really wasn't getting anywhere for the first time in like, ever.  
"I just thought it would be nice to get to know you. You seem a bit lonely."  
"I'm not lonely. I like being alone." He huffed, looking back down at the table.  
"Well, I just thought maybe we could get to know each other? Maybe be friends?" I smiled sweetly again. I wasn't giving up. No way.  
He lifted his head up and studied me for a few seconds, a scowl on his face.  
"Aren't you the clutz who walked into me the other morning?" He questioned. My face started to glow. I'd never been made to feel like such an idiot before.  
"Yeah. I thought so. Maybe focus more on what you're doing than what other people are doing." He grunted, standing from his seat. He picked his tray up, and walked off without a word. I sat there in stunned silence, unsure of what had just happened. That was definitely a first for me!

I was still sat there for a few seconds when my friend Amy perched herself on the bench next to me.  
"Hey. How'd it go with the new boy?" She asked, taking a small bite from an apple and smiling at me.  
I blinked a few times, shaking my head slowly. I was so confused by the interaction I just had. I didn't even have the words.  
"Mia? Did something happen? You look upset?" She asked me, a worried look on her face.  
"He completely blew me off Amy. I mean... he was so rude!" I squeaked at my best friend.  
"Oh! That's weird... did you say something to piss him off?"  
"Not at all." I replied "I just introduced myself and suggested we could be friends."  
"And...?" Amy asked me.  
"And I'm pretty sure his response was a no in not so few words." I picked at the food on my plate in front of me, not sure what to make of Kai Parker. Any normal person would give up and let him be, but not me. I could see deep down he was a lost soul. He just needed someone to find him.

—————————————————————————

Three weeks later

I had attempted numerous times to speak to Kai again since our conversation at the lunch table, but it was so far unsuccessful. I'd say hi to him and he would just grunt. I was sat in front of him in biology and tried to turn to talk to him and he just completely blanked me. I was starting to feel like a bit of a stalker to be honest.  
Now we were sat in our History class and assignments were being handed out. Our teacher, Mr Drew has explained that it would be a partnered assignment and he would be choosing the pairs. I looked hopefully over at Amy, wondering if he would be kind enough to pair the two of us up. No such luck.

Mr Drew was stood at the front of the class reading off names from his list. My ears perked up when I heard my name - "Mia Michaels and...." Please be Amy. Please be Amy. "Malachai Parker."  
"Kai. It's Kai." I heard a grunt from a couple of tables across. He didn't look at me at all. Just carried on looking down at the notepad he was scribbling in. I wondered what he was doodling... I glanced over at Amy who raised her eyebrows. Sure, this was the perfect way to get to know Kai, but if he didn't want to get to know me, it could quite possibly be the worst couple of weeks ever.

After history, the class emptied out into the hall. I hovered around for a bit, waiting for Kai to step out. When he did, I jumped in front of him before he could run off. "Hi!" I smiled brightly. He sighed and rolled his eyes. Yet again, so rude!  
"What do you want?" He grunted at me, shrugging his back pack further into his shoulder, glaring at me with contempt. I couldn't understand what I'd done to deserve this treatment. All I ever tried to do was be nice to him and all he did in return was be mean and make me feel small.  
"I just thought it would be a good idea to maybe arrange something so we can talk about the assignment? Maybe coffee after school let's out?" I asked hopefully.  
He groaned. My face started to flush from embarrassment again. Why was he like this. No one was ever like this with me.  
"Sure. Whatever. Where?"  
My face lit up. Finally! I have him a quick smile and told him where to meet me. He grunted in response and walked off down the hallway, putting his headphones on as he did.  
I was finally going to get to know Kai. All that hard work had paid off. So why was I so damn nervous?!


	2. Coffee and Cake

I walked into the coffee shop, having a quick glance around to see if Kai was there yet. He wasn’t, so I decided to grab myself a drink while I waited.  
“One cappucino please Chris!” I smiled at the young guy behind the counter. Chris was a senior at my school but he always made conversation with me whenever he saw me.  
“Not a problem Mia. What brings you here today then? Other than the great coffee of course!” He smiled. He was nice looking boy. Blonde hair, blue eyes. The all-American dream really. He played football for the school team and was pretty popular amongst jocks and cheerleaders alike.  
“Just meeting up with my history assignment partner to try and come up with some ideas.” I sighed absentmindedly.  
“Oh? Is your partner that bad?” He asked, pouring the frothed milk into my drink delicately.  
“I don’t really know to be honest. I’ve not really spoken to him much. I mean, I’ve tried, but he doesn’t seem at all that interested in having friends.” I sighed.  
“Well, if anyone can bring him round it’s you Mia!” He smiled, placing my drink on the counter. He’d made a cute heart shape on top. I gave him a quick smile. “Hopefully!” I said and gave him a small wave before handing him the money and heading over to find myself a seat.

I found an empty table with sofas near the window. Perfect for people watching. As I sipped my coffee I stared out into the street. It was bustling with people, especially teenagers just finishing school for the day. I saw several I knew from school, a few I hadn’t seen before. Lots of couples walking hand in hand. I daydreamed about having that. Maybe some day. This was the problem with being the nice girl at school. Everyone wanted to be my friend, but never anything more.  
I sunk back in the comfy seat, closing my eyes softly for a few seconds.  
I was jolted back to earth by a loud cough coming from next to me. When I opened my eyes and looked up, Kai was stood there, a frown on his face.  
“Sorry. I didn’t realise it was nap time.” He grunted sarcastically.  
I straightened up in my seat and forced a smile. He may be in a permanent bad mood, but I wasn’t going to let him ruined mine.

He sat down on the sofa opposite. Throwing his back pack on the table, almost sending my coffee flying.  
“Watch it!” I shouted instinctively. I suddenly realised how loud I was and glanced around to check how many people were looking at us. Only a few people seemed to notice.  
“Sorry.” He growled.  
“It’s fine. Do you want anything?” I asked him.  
He shrugged. “Not much of a coffee drinker.” He grunted. Not even making eye contact.  
“They do sodas? Water? Maybe a cake?” I asked him.  
“I’m good.” He said quietly.  
“Are you sure? They do really nice pastries in here and...”  
“God you really don’t let up do you. I said NO.” He growled loudly.  
I didn’t respond, picking up my coffee and taking a big sip, looking over the top of the mug at him. For someone as good looking as him, he was a real jerk.  
“Can we just get this over with.” He said impatiently.  
“Yeah. Sure....” I pulled out my history books and threw them on the table hard. He was really starting to get my back up now. This was NOT going the way I’d hoped it would.  
“Whoa. Someone’s in a bad mood.” He chuckled to himself. I almost saw a smile but not quite.  
“Yeah, well, I’ve not exactly got the best company at the moment.” I snapped, then realised what I’d said. I looked at him wide eyed waiting for an angry reaction. He just laughed.

“I like that....” he chuckled.  
“Huh?” I was confused by his response.  
“That. The attitude. You should use it more often then maybe people won’t walk all over you constantly.” He smirked. He had a nice smile. He really should do it more.  
“People don’t walk all of over me.” I said, opening my text book at the right page.  
“Yes they do. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You’re too nice.” He said quietly, avoiding eye contact.  
“Not true. People just like me. I’m no walkover Kai.” I was getting annoyed now. He was making assumptions about me when he had no clue about who I was or what I was like.  
“You’re very rude you know.” I glared at him. I hated confrontation, but man was he pissing me of.  
“Yeah I get that a lot.” He laughed.  
“And you couldn’t care less I take it?” I asked him, frustrated by his attitude.  
“Nope. One of the perks of being a sociopath.” He said flatly. As if it wasn’t a big deal.  
“Okay.....” I carried on flicking through my books.

There was silence for a bit. Then I decided to break it.  
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” I started.  
He looked at me with a questioning look on his face.  
“Okay. Well. Thanks for wasting my time anyway.” He said standing up and throwing his bag on his shoulder, walking out of the coffee shop.  
I chased after him, grabbing hold of his arm, turning him to face me. He looked pissed.  
“Don’t touch me!” He hissed, yanking his arm away.  
“I’m sorry.” I mumbled, feeling even more awkward now.  
“It’s fine.” He muttered quietly.  
“No it’s not. Look. You obviously don’t want anything to do with me and I’ve been harassing you for a while now. I should take the hint. I’m sorry.” I said, looking at him with a resigned look on my face. I turned to walk away and stopped when I heard him speak.  
“No. I’m sorry. I’ve been a complete ass. I’m just not used to people actually wanting to get to know me.” He said quietly, looking at the ground. This was the first time I’d ever seen any kind of emotion in him. It was sweet. He looked so vulnerable for once.  
I smiled at him and stepped a bit closer.  
“How about we leave if for today and try again tomorrow? If you want to that is?” I asked him hopefully.  
“Sure.” He looked like he was almost, very very slightly, smiling back at me. I smiled back and he turned around and left. I stood there for a few seconds, confused by what just happened. Had I actually managed to get through to Kai Parker?

———————————————————————

I didn’t see Kai at school the following day. He should have been in a few of my classes but he never turned up. It was strange, but given the kind of person he was I just assumed he had probably just skipped the day.  
When I got home from school, my Mom was still at work. I threw my bag down in the hallway and kicked off my sneakers. I walked through to the kitchen to see a note from Mom pinned to the Fridge and some cash. ‘I‘m out for dinner straight from work. Get yourself a takeaway. Love you lots. Mom x’  
I sighed to myself softly. This happened a lot. In fact most evenings were spent on my own. She always seemed to be out on a date with some new guy. Her and my Dad has split up when I was tiny. I’d never met him. Never really wanted to as he made zero effort to ever contact me.  
I threw the cash on the worktop and grabbed a can of coke from the fridge. As I was walking through the hallway into the sitting room, I heard a knock at the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, but assumed it was probably a delivery for Mom or something.

As I walked towards the door I could see the outline of the person through the glass panel. I immediately knew who it was and I was completely confused that he was here right now.  
As I opened the door, there he stood in front of me. Kai Parker.  
“Kai? What are you...” he walked straight past me into the house. “I thought we could get started on this project.” He said not yet turning to look at me.  
“Oh. Well. I wasn’t expecting you. How did you even know where I lived?” I asked him, confused and wondering if I’d forgotten I’d told him.  
“I found your address in the student records” he mumbled. “So. Should we get started?”  
I ignored his response to my question. Of course he did. That was probably the most logical explanation I could have expected from him. I gestured for him to go through to the sitting room and I followed him in.


	3. Magic

As soon as he was in the room he threw his backpack down and collapsed on the sofa taking a big sigh. I stood looking at him for a few seconds.  
"What?" He asked me. I realised I was staring.  
"Make yourself at home!" I laughed as he put his feet up on the coffee table in front of him and grinned.  
"Will do..." he smirked.  
"Do you want a drink? I can grab a can of coke from the fridge if you like?" I asked him, cautiously waiting for an answer. The last time I asked him if he wanted food or drink he'd snapped at me.  
"Yea sure. Thanks"  
Wow. A thank you from Kai Parker? Who was this person?!

I grabbed him a can of coke from the kitchen and went back into the room, tossing it over to him. "Heads up!" I laughed and he quickly responded by catching it with one his hand.  
"That's gonna fizz up good now!" He laughed, placing it down on the table to settle.  
He looked so relaxed sat there. Not the same boy I'd seen in school for the past month.  
He grabbed the tv remote off the coffee table and started flicking through the few channels that were available.  
I looked at him, raising my eyebrow quizzically.  
"I thought you came over to start on our project?" I asked Kai, sitting on the sofa beside him.  
"Yea. I just need a bit of a chill out first. Thought we could watch a movie? If that's okay?" He asked, still flicking through not really even stopping for more than a second to see what was on.  
"Sure. I'm down for that." I smiled. He gave a cheeky smile back.

A few minutes later and he was still trying to find something to watch.  
"So.... how come you weren't in school today?" I asked him.  
He turned to face me, grinning. "Why? Did you miss me?" He have a cheeky wink and I laughed.  
"No!" I laughed again, probably a little nervously this time. I guess I had kind of missed seeing him.  
"Had some stuff at home to deal with." He shrugged, grabbing his coke and taking a gulp.  
"Oh? What kind of..."  
"You're sure are nosey aren't you?!" He snapped.  
I didn't know what to say. This guy seemed to go from 0 to 100 SUPER fast!

We sat in silence for a bit. He'd finally found a movie to watch. An American Werewolf in London. It wasn't really my thing but he seems to be enjoying it.  
"Sorry I snapped." He suddenly blurted out, still looking at the tv.  
"Oh.... sure. It's fine. I know I can be a bit much sometimes."  
He turned to look at me. His eyes were softer than they had seemed to earlier. Almost sad.  
"My Dads a bit of an arse. We had a fall out last night and I hid out in a cabin we have in the woods near our house."  
"Oh? What happened?" I asked. Then realised I shouldn't have. "Sorry... I didn't...."  
"It's fine. He thinks I'm a freak. An abomination. I'm not normal." He muttered. Looking away from me. I shifted slightly closer but not too close so as to make him feel uncomfortable.  
"You're none of those things Kai." I said softly, reaching to touch his knee.  
Suddenly he jerked away from me and stood up.  
"You don't know me. You have no idea what I'm like. Just stay away from me." He shouted and stormed out of the house. I didn't even follow him. I just let him go. I was tired of chasing after Kai Parker.

———————————————————————-

That weekend, I decided to catch up on some homework at the coffee shop. Mom was away again, and I didn't fancy being at home on my own. At least here I was surrounded by people, even if I didn't know them.  
I sat sipping my coffee, writing up some notes from my textbook. As I was writing there was a shadow cast over my books and I looked up to see mr tall dark and handsome yet again.  
"Kai?" I questioned. Wondering why he was here. The last I'd heard from him he stormed out of my house and he'd been avoiding me since.  
"Hey. Can I sit?" He asked. He sounded nervous for a change.  
"Yeah sure. I'm just doing some homework. Everything okay?"  
I looked at him, studying his features. He did not look okay. His eyes looked tired and he had dark circles and his bottom lip looked like it had been split open and was starting to heal. He looked out of the window, playing with the sugar shaker on the table.  
"Yea I'm fine. I... do you want to come somewhere with me? I want to show you something." He asked softly. His voice had never sounded so quiet before. It was slightly un nerving!  
"Where?" I asked anxiously.  
"Just down by the river. I promise I'm not a psycho." He have a cheeky smirk but there was still a sadness in his eyes. How could I say no? Yes, I was nervous about what he wanted to show me, but for some reason I felt safe around him.  
"Okay." I said, taking the last sip of my coffee and throwing my books in my bag. I stood up and signalled for him to lead and followed him out of the coffee shop.

A short walk later we were sat by the river. It was so peaceful and quiet. No one else was around. All we could hear were some birds and the slow moving water.  
Kai turned to face me and looked at me seriously.  
"I want to show you something but you have to promise you won't freak out. Okay?" He asked me. I studied him for a few seconds. Trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about.  
"Uh... okay... but how can I promise I won't freak out if I have no idea what it is...?" I asked, nervously twirling my hair around my fingers.  
"Just trust me." He said. I did trust him. I had no idea why, but I did.  
"Okay." I said with a sweet smile.

He pulled a pillar candle from his bag and set it between us. I looked at him, confused and he closed his eyes. He looked so innocent sat there like that. He began speaking but I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying.  
"Phasmatos incendia...."  
He repeated the words several times. After the 5th time, the candle lit by itself! I jumped back in shock.  
"Whoa! How?!" I squeaked nervously.   
"You promised you wouldn't freak." He said seriously, trying to make out the expression on my face.  
"I'm not. I'm... that's amazing Kai!" I smiled a big beaming smile and he smiled back.

That day was the beginning of a friendship I would never forget. No matter what would happen.


	4. 1990

One year later...

It had been a year since Kai and I had first quite literally bumped into one other. Since that day we had become best friends. Sure, he was short tempered and a little bit weird. And let's not forget the magic! But he was my best friend and I wouldn't change him for the world.  
We only had a few months left of school before we both went off to college. I was going away for college to study to become a nurse. Kai was staying in Portland and hoping to get onto a music course at a local college.  
He had been a bit off the past couple of weeks. I assumed it was to do when his Dad again. Yes, his Dad was still a huge arse.

I walked into the canteen and saw him sitting in our usual spot, away from everyone else. I walked over and sat on the bench opposite him.  
"Afternoon Malachai." I smirked.  
He grunted. He hated that name but I loved to tease him with it.  
I threw a tater tot across the table and it bounced off his chest making him look up.  
"What do you want Mia?" He growled. Oh, he was in one of those moods. I stood up and moved round to sit next to him, putting my arm around his shoulder and squeezing him close to me. Kai still hated being touched, but he was a bit more laid back than he used to be. I'd found out the reason he reacted so badly to anyone touching him was because he had a special kind of magic. He was something called a siphon. A siphon could drain another witches power and that was frowned upon by most covens, including his own. The Gemini Coven. They were a massive group of jerks.

"What up with you sour face? Someone piss on your cornflakes this morning?"  
He continued looking down at the table.  
"Hey?" I tried to get him to look at me but he seemed like he was in a complete daze. "Kai??" I shook him slightly to try and snap him out of it. Suddenly his head jerked up and he looked at me. His eyes were filled with anger. It had been a while since I'd seen him look at me like that. I let go and shifted away slightly.  
"Why are you still even bothering with me Mia?" He asked solemnly. I frowned at him, unsure what he meant.  
"What are you talking about Kai?" I asked him. A confused look on my face.  
"Couple of months and you'll be gone. You'll have new friends. You won't even speak to me anymore." He mumbled.  
"That's not true..." I started but he cut me off.  
"It is and you know it Mia!" He slammed his fist down on the table. "I don't know why I ever agreed to be friends with you. You're just like everyone else. You get fed up with me and you throw me away." He grunted.

"Kai. What's brought this on?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Is it college? Because I thought you were okay with all this. You're doing your thing, I'm..."  
"My parents aren't going to pay for me to go to college Mia. They're putting Jo through college instead. Say they can't afford to do both." He glanced over at me. His eyes looked red.  
"What? But they said... why have they just told you this now?"  
"How should I know Mia." He said sharply. "They don't give a shit about me. That's the reason. And now you're going off to college and I'll be stuck in this shitty town alone."  
He stood up and walked off, throwing a chair across the floor on his way.

I was stood there in shock. People had glanced over but had now looked away and were whispering. People liked to make up stories about Kai and I being a couple. We never were. I mean, yea he was cute. But we were only ever friends.  
The rest of the day went as usual. Well, except Kai had vanished. That wasn't usual for him though. I was sure he spent half his school year not actually in school.  
When the final bell went, I grabbed my bag and ran out of the school. Eager to get home and slob out on the couch for the evening.  
When I turned the corner into my street I could already see the familiar figure sat on the doorstep. He was looking at the ground, flicking a bit of grass with a stick. He looked like a child. An innocent, undamaged child. But I knew he was far from it.

"Hey" I said walking towards him. He lifted his head to look up at me and stood up, brushing his jeans down.  
"Hey." He was so quiet. He looked nervous. I hadn't seen him act like this before.  
"You want to come in? I've got chips and cola and we can find a movie?" I smiled at him hopefully.  
"I... I need to tell you something." He mumbled.  
"Okay. Sure. Come in and..."  
"No. I need to tell you now before I chicken out." He said, swallowing hard and stepping closer to me. "I like you Mia." He said in a very matter of fact voice.  
"I know Kai. I like you too." I replied. Unsure of what was happening right now.  
"No Mia. I mean. I LIKE like you."  
I stood stuck for a few seconds, just looking at him. His gorgeous blue-grey eyes fixed on mine, full of hope.  
"Kai...." I started and all of a sudden his lips were crashing against mine. I didn't kiss him back. I froze to the spot. He pulled away and looked at me confused.  
"What's wrong?" He asked. I stumbled back slightly, widening the gap between the two of us.

"Kai. We can't. I.... you're my best friend. I should..." I lifted my hand up to my lips to touch where his mouth had just been.  
He stepped forward again and took my hand.  
"I know. And you're mine. But I want you to be more than that." He smiled softly. My face stayed still. No expression as I tried to find the right words. Then it all came tumbling out.  
"I can't be with you Kai. I've been seeing Chris for the past month and we're getting on really well and... you're my best friend!" I blurted out without stopping for a breath. He dropped my hand and stepped backwards. "Chris? That jock from the coffee shop?" He asked me. His face going redder by the second.  
I nodded, looking down at my feet. "I was going to tell you. It's just....."  
"Forget it Mia. You and Chris have fun and you have an AMAZING time at your new college without me dragging you down all the time." He shouted. I could hear his voice cracking ever so slightly.  
"Kai... please..." I tried to reach out and for the first time in ages he shouted those words again "DO NOT TOUCH ME!" I jerked my hand back as if he'd burnt me, tears pooling in my eyes. Had I really just lost my best friend?  
"Have a great life Mia." He said, turning to walk away. I said nothing. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. That was the biggest regret of my teenage life and the last time I would see or hear from Kai Parker in a while...


	5. 1994

It had been 4 years since I'd last set foot in Portland, Oregon. Around the time I started college my Mum decided to move all the way across the country to a place called Mystic Falls in Georgia to live with her boyfriend at the time. That obviously didn't last but she'd managed to get a job and meet someone new there, so that's where we stayed. I decided to change to a nursing school just outside of Mystic Falls called Whitmore College as it just made life a lot easier without having to be back and forth all the time.   
I was currently on my way across country for my friend Amy's bachelorette party. Something I was both excited about and dreading.  
Since the day Kai has kissed me 4 years ago, I had heard nothing from him. All I knew from Amy was that he was still in Portland and he was just as weird as always. Maybe a bit weirder? I couldn't even begin to imagine what the past few years must have been like for him. I'd heard in that time that his Mum and Dad had another set of twins. That was 8 kids in total. 7 siblings. Kai always complained about how noisy the house was and how annoying it was having all those little brothers and sisters running around. Although the one he found the most annoying was his twin sister Jo. I could imagine that irritation had only increased after they agreed to send her away to college and not him.

I turned the music up on the radio and some soppy shit by Boyz 2 Men came on...  
"I'll make love to you... like you want me to... and I'll hold you tight...." I quickly changed the station over and Two Princes by Spin Doctors was on. "Geez..." I laughed. I bet Kai hated that song too!  
Why was I even thinking about Kai? I wasn't here to see him. I probably wouldn't see him at all while I was in town.  
I sighed and turned the radio off. By this time I was almost at Portland.   
The place looked exactly the same as it had 4 years ago.  
As I pulled into the carpark of Amy's apartment block, I couldn't help remembering my teenage years. I was 22 now. Single as hell, but at least I wasn't stuck here. I thought about Kai again. He was stuck here. He had no way out. I should have come back for him, but I couldn't.

Chris and I were together almost a year when we split up. The long distance thing just wasn't working. I'd had a few short lived relationships since but nothing serious. Nothing ever felt real.  
I jumped out of the car and buzzed up to Amy's apartment. She let me in and when I got up there I could already hear music thumping loudly. It had been a while since I'd had a decent night out.  
The door swung open and there Amy stood with a massive smile on her face.  
"Mia!!!!" She shrieked, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me tightly. I hugged her back and realised how much I missed her hugs.  
We'd seen each other a decent amount since I moved but it was always meeting half way or her coming to stay with me, and now my best friend was actually getting married!  
"Come in! We're having some drinks then we're heading down to O'Reillys!" She screeched excitedly.  
I followed her in and she introduced me to her group of friends, non of which I had ever met before. They all looked like normal, nice girls.  
"Oh so this is the girl that broke Kai Parker's heart?" He voice giggled. The girl smiled at me sweetly and waved "I'm Amelia!" She said cheerfully.  
I turned to Amy with a questioning look on my face and she just shrugged.

Half an hour and a few shots later, we were in a taxi heading for O'Reillys. The only half decent bar in Portland.  
As we arrived outside I noticed it was exactly the same as when I left. Literally nothing in this god forsaken town had changed!  
We piled out of the taxi and into the bar noisily, gaining the attention of most of the people already drinking in there. A group of guys around our age was sat at a table in the corner, watching us eagerly as we approached the bar.  
"Two shots of tequila please!" I asked the bartender smiling.  
"Sure thing sweetheart. You got some ID on you?" He asked me, smiling back.  
"Sure!" I pulled my driving licence out and handed it over.  
"Mystic Falls hey? I know some people from Mystic Falls."  
I nodded back at him politely as if to say, oh, that's interesting.  
I did a quick scan of the bar.  
"I don't think he's here..." Mia whispered to me with a giggle.  
"Who?" I asked, pretending I didn't know what she was talking about.  
She just laughed and grabbed the shot of tequila from the bar, downing it quickly.  
"We'll take another two if those please!" I laughed to the barman who winked and slid two more shot glasses full over. I downed one, followed by the other while Amy drank her second one too.

We'd been in the bar about half an hour when a couple of the guys from the group who had been watching us came over. Most of the girls went all giggly and started twirling their hair. Typical flirty girls. I stood sipping on my whisky, just waiting to hear what cheesy line they would come out with first and I definitely wasn't disappointed.  
"So sweetheart.... Are you a parking ticket? Because you've got FINE written AAAAAAAAALL over you!" He winked. I rolled my eyes, taking another sip as he stood beside me, his friend chatting away to a few of the other girls.  
"Look. No offence buddy, but I'm not really interested."  
He held his hand on his heart and gave me a fake hurt look. "You wound me my fair maiden." I let out a small laugh, which was probably a mistake, because in his language that clearly meant I was open for business.  
He slipped his arm around behind me and gave my arse a quick squeeze. I jumped back and slapped him hard across the face causing him to fall backwards slightly.  
"Whoa! Feisty!" He laughed, holding his cheek in his hand.  
"Mia! What the hell's going on?!" Amy shouted, jumping in front of me.  
"This jerk grabbed my arse!"  
"And a mighty sweet arse it is too..." he purred, moving his hand back down to where it had landed before. But before it made contact, there was a loud thud and he went flying onto the floor.  
"I believe she said she wasn't interested!" a voice boomed angrily. I could recognise that voice anywhere.

As I looked to see who my knight in shining armour was, sure enough, it was Mr tall dark and handsome himself.   
"Kai?" I looked at him in shock, by brows knitted together.  
At this point, the other guys friends had dragged him up off the floor and out of the bar to avoid another confrontation.  
"Mia." He nodded at me. A serious look on his face. He still had those goddam beautiful blue-grey eyes and that soft dark hair and chiselled jawline. But boy had he grown up. He wasn't the awkward 17/18 year old boy he was when I'd left Portland. Stood in front of me was a man who could break a thousand hearts with just a smile.  
"It's rude to stare" he chuckled, giving me a lopsided grin.  
"I... I wasn't expecting to see you here..." I stuttered. I clearly looked flustered. Amy and the girls were stood a couple of feet away, ease-dropping on the conversation, which at present, didn't consist of much.  
"Well, I'm the one who lives here still, so..." he grinned.  
"Yea. I guess. I just..."  
"Didn't expect to see me in a social setting?"   
I shrugged in response.   
"Well, I needed to get out of the house and this was the only place still open that served alcohol." He replied to his own question.  
"Can I buy you a drink? As a Thankyou for defending my honour?" I smiled sweetly. He laughed in return and nodded.

We'd grabbed our drinks and sat at a table in a quiet corner of the bar.  
Neither of us said anything for a bit.  
"So what's your Dad been doing now? Still being a colossal jerk?" I asked him carefully.  
"Pretty much!" He sighed, taking a sip of his drink. "He informed me earlier today that there was no way I would ever become the Gemini Coven leader."  
"Oh?" I questioned. Kai had always assumed that would be his job when he was older. That's what he had always told me and it seemed like that was what he really wanted. A chance to prove to his family that he wasn't worthless.  
"Mom and Dad has another set of twinsies just after you... ran off. And now he wants one of them to be the leader when they turn 22."  
I sighed. "I didn't run off Kai..." I swirled my drink around in the glass.  
"You kind of did. I.... kissed you, then you left and I never saw you again." he sighed softly. A sadness to his voice.  
"Okay. Maybe I did kind of run away." I smiled sadly. "It was just a lot." I looked at him. His eyes were still fixed on me. He was so much more confident than he used to be.  
"You look amazing by the way." He smiled sweetly, tilting his head to one side.  
"Ditto." I chuckled. There was no denying I was most definitely attracted to the more mature looking Kai. And the new attitude made it even more impossible not to feel something for him. He just had this air about him now that he never had before.

We spent a short while chatting and drinking. I found out he had still had a pretty unbearable time since I left, but he had been trying to stand up for himself more. I wished I'd been there to help him through everything. I wished I'd never left him behind.  
He glanced down at his watch and looked back up at me. "I've got to go." He said suddenly, standing from his seat.  
"Oh.... already?" I asked him, disappointment in my voice.  
"Yea. Sorry. Family stuff." He mumbled.  
"Well, I'm in town for a few more days. Maybe we could meet up for some lunch tomorrow?" I asked hopefully. He bit his lip in thought then finally responded.  
"Yea sure. Meet me at the diner at 12. My treat this time." He replied earning a ridiculously big grin from me.  
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow Kai!" I beamed.  
"See you tomorrow." He leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek then left.  
I sat for a while, remembering all the great times we'd had together, and feeling sad for all the time we'd lost. Maybe we could make up for that now...?


	6. End Of The World As We Know It

The next morning I was woken up by lots of chatter. I looked around the room through squinted eyes to see what was going on and remembered I was in Amy's apartment which was probably full of several other girls from the night before. I sighed and closed my eyes again, pulling the blanket over my head.  
"Mia! Mia! You have to wake up!" I heard suddenly and could feel someone shaking me. I groaned and threw the covers off, faced with Amy sat on the floor next to me with a worried look on her face.  
"What's happened?" I asked. Preparing myself for some awful news.  
Amy flicked the tv on and put on the local news channel. There in front of me was a nightmare come true...  
"Last night a Portland family was brutally murdered in their home. Currently the only family member who's whereabouts is unknown is 22 year old Malachai Parker. His twin sister, Josette Parker is currently being operated on for severe stab wounds to the abdomen. The two youngest siblings, twins, are believed to be unharmed, but 4 other children have been sadly confirmed as deceased...."  
I turned to Amy. Shock on my face. I felt ill.

"They think he did it Mia. They think Kai butchered all those poor kids!" She sobbed. "Why would he do that Mia?"  
I just sat there in shock, shaking my head. He couldn't have done this. Not the Kai Parker I knew. But I hadn't seen him for years. What if he wasn't the same Kai Parker anymore.  
I quickly jumped up from the sofa and grabbed my bag and car keys. "Where are you going?" Amy asked me, concern in her voice. "Please don't tell me your going to look for that psycho Mia!" She shouted.  
"I have to go Amy. I'll call you okay."  
Before she could say anything else I was out the door and running down to my car.  
As soon as I got into the car I burst into tears. How could he do this? Those poor innocent kids. His brothers and sisters!  
I started the engine and sped out of the car park, knowing exactly where I was heading.

A little while later I arrived at the huge house on the outskirts of Portland. There were police everywhere. I walked up to the porch but a police officer stopped me.  
"Sorry Miss. This is a crime scene. You can't come in." He put his hand out to signal for me to stop. Over his shoulder I spotted a tall man, looking towards me. I'd never met Kai's father before, but this man looked just like him and I knew immediately who it was.  
"Mr Parker! Mr Parker! I'm Kai's friend, Mia!" I shouted over to him. He slowly walked in my direction and past the officer stood between us.  
"Mia. Yes. I've heard lots about you." He said softly. His eyes were red and watery.  
"Mr Parker..."  
"Joshua. Please." He corrected.  
I nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm so sorry to hear what happened."  
He nodded slowly.  
"If you're here to look for Malachai, he isn't here." He mumbled quietly.  
"Do you really think he did this?" I asked, tears filling my eyes again. Joshua put a hand on my back and guided me away from where we were standing.  
"I can take you to him. If that's what you want?" He asked me. I was confused. If he knew where Kai was, why hadn't he told the police?  
"I... yes. Please. I need to speak to him."

We walked a little way into the wooded area behind the house, towards an old cabin. This must be the cabin Kai would hide out in when he had a fall out with his Dad, I thought. It was super creepy looking and I felt uncomfortable being here alone with Joshua, but if it meant I could see Kai and find out what happened, I was okay with that.  
"Is he in there?" I asked cautiously, indicating towards the cabin.  
"Yes. Come on." He said, leading the way.  
As we walked inside I looked around. There were blankets and pillows. Some old magazines, bags of pork rinds and some empty cans. I could tell Kai had definitely been here, but the place was empty. He wasn't here now.  
"I don't think...."  
Joshua cut me off. "He'll be back any minute. Wait here. I'll see if I can find him." He said calmly. I nodded an okay and he stepped back outside leaving me in the creepy cabin alone.  
I paced back and forth for a few minutes. Trying to decided whether to stay or just make a run for it. This whole situation was creeping me out.  
I decided to just leave and slowly went to open the door, but as I pushed it open, it stuck. It was locked. But I hadn't hear Joshua lock it when he left? Magic. He had used magic to lock me in here!

I started banging on the door, shouting loudly. I peeked out through the window and could see Joshua stood there with his eyes closed, saying something but I couldn't hear what. I looked around and could make out a few other people stood there too. What were they doing? Suddenly I started feeling light headed. I sat down on the floor, closing my eyes slowly. Then all of a sudden, everything went dark.....

———————————————————————

**Joshuas POV**

I knew who she was the second I saw her. Malachai had kept a photo of the two of them in his room from before she had left Portland. From what I gathered, the two were close. Best friends even. Malachai would often speak to Josette about her. Mia, her name was. And here she was now, looking for him. Looking for the abomination that had destroyed half of my family.  
What was I supposed to do? If she found out what we had done to him, she definitely wouldn't walk away and pretend it never happened. The only option would be to make sure she couldn't tell anyone. Make sure there was no way Malachai could ever escape.

I managed to magically lock her in the cabin. Silly girl. She was far too trusting.  
This gave me a few minutes to gather a handful of the coven members who were still nearby after last nights prison world spell. This should be enough magic to stop her. Not enough for a prison world, but if we could make her sleep for a while, then it could work.  
The coven and I decided to performing a sleeping curse. She would stay in her current state, not ageing a day, for as long as she slept. The only way the curse could be broken was if Kai was released from the Prison World, and that would NEVER happen. It was the right thing to do. For my family. For my coven. For the rest of Portland. He was dangerous and if she managed to find a way to release him, he would come for us first.

I could see her looking out through the window now. She looked terrified. We chanted the spell together and with a flash of light it was done. I unlocked the cabin to check it had worked. It had. She was fast asleep, like sleeping beauty. Now we just needed to get her away from Portland. I remembered Malachai mentioning she had moved away to a place called Mystic Falls. That was where we had to send her. Far away from Portland. Far away from us. Far away from him...


	7. 2012

I wake up gasping for air. My throat feels dry and my eyes heavy. I sit upright and look around. I'm not in that god awful cabin anymore at least. But where the hell am I?! It feels like I'm in some sort of cave. Did Joshua Parker just dump me here?!  
As I stumble around looking for an exit, my head starts pounding and I feel dizzy. What the hell has he done to me?  
I finally find my way out into the blinding sunlight. It feels like I've not seen daylight in days, my eyes are so sore I have to squint to see where I'm going.  
I'm in the middle of some woods. I walk for a bit and then I come across a graveyard. Creepy. Where am I?!

I walk a little further through the cemetary. It's so quiet. Almost peaceful.   
As I come out the cemetary, I feel like I've been here before. I look around, taking everything in, then I spot it. The Grill. I'm in Mystic Falls! Well, at least he didn't dump me somewhere random in the middle of nowhere!  
I almost run towards the bar and through the doors, absolutely gasping for a drink.  
"Could I have a water please?" I beg the guy behind the bar.  
"Sure" he looks at me with concern. "You okay?"  
"Yea, I'm just SUPER thirsty!" I laugh nervously, gulping down the glass of water he passes me. "Thankyou!"  
"No problem. Let me know if you need another!" he smiles. As he walks away I notice a few things. His haircut... its cool, but not a style I'd seen before. And those jeans. What is with those? They look like they've been spraypainted on! I shrug it off and continue looking around. Lots of people are wearing similar clothes and sporting similar haircuts. Maybe a new trend? As I sit there, slightly confused, I hear a noise and jump.  
"What the hell was that?!" I screech. The barman walks over towards me with a perplexed look on his face.  
"You sure you're okay?" He asks me.  
"I'm fine. But what was that weird noise??" I ask him, a worried look on my face. Am I hearing things?  
"Uh.... this?" He says, pulling a device out of his pocket and holding it up to me. I lean over the bar to look at it closer and take it from his hand.  
"What IS this?!" I ask him curiously, looking at it as if it's some kind of alien device.  
"A phone..." He says with a bemused look on his face. He thinks I'm trying to be funny.  
"Oh...." That's not like any kind of phone I've ever seen! 

I jump down from the bar stool, glancing around again. Lots of people are talking on similar 'phones'. I shake my head in confusion and run out through the doors into the street, crashing straight into a solid chest, almost flying backwards in the process if it weren't for somebody grabbing my wrist.  
"Whoa!" The person shouts, pulling me back up towards them. I look up to see a handsome man stood there with a concerned look on his face. "You okay?" He asks me.  
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm just. I'm a bit confused." I reply, looking around flustered. The cars don't look the same either. Mystic falls looks the same, but different.  
"Okay... come sit down." He says, guiding me towards a bench and gesturing for me to sit, which I do.  
"What... what year is it?" I ask him cautiously, not wanting to sound like a crazy person.  
"2012" he replies with a questioning look on his face.  
I sit there, dead still, staring ahead. Did he just say 2012? That can't be right...  
"No. No. That's not...No..." I reply, shaking my head. He puts a hand on my shoulder and looks at me seriously. "What year do you think it is?" He asks me.  
"1994. It's May 10th 1994." I say very matter of fact.  
He looks at me and raises his eyebrows. "Did you say May 10th 1994?" He asks me.  
I just nod in response.  
"I think you need to come with me." He says, standing to offer a hand to me. I accept and stand up.  
"And who exactly are you?" I ask him.  
"I'm Stefan Salvatore." He smiles softly.  
"Mia. Mia Michaels." I reply.

——————————————————————

A short while later and I'm sitting on a couch in a massive house. Stefan has made me a coffee which I very much need right now. How can what he said be true? How is it 2012? How had I missed 18 years, yet I still look and feel exactly the same?  
I can hear Stefan talking to someone in the kitchen. The conversation sounds quite heated but I can't really make out what is being said.  
I close my eyes, leaning back on the couch, trying to calm my breathing.  
A few minutes later the sofa moves beneath me and someone speaks. "So. This is 1994 girl?" The voice says. I open my eyes to see a man sat next to me. He has raven hair and piercing blue eyes. He's looking me up and down as if he's trying to figure out what I am.

"My names Mia." I say, staring back at him.  
"Well hello Mia. I'm Damon Salvatore. I believe you've already met my brother Stefan?" I glance over at Stefan who smiles and gives me a nod.  
"Yeah. But I'm still a bit confused..." I begin.  
"You and me both." He cuts in. "So tell us. What was the last thing you remember?"  
I tell him the story of what happened just before I woke up. How Joshua had tricked me into going into the cabin behind their house. How he had cast some spell with a group of people and I had fallen asleep. Then I had woken up again in Mystic Falls.  
Turns out this was indeed 2012. Joshua must have put some spell on me, but why was I awake now?  
"I don't understand. If Joshua put a spell on me, how have I woken up?" I ask, a confused tone to my voice.  
"That's what we're trying to figure out..." he begins, looking at me suspiciously. "What did you say this Joshuas last name was?" He asks me, staring at me intently.  
"Parker." I tell him. Damon's face froze. His eyes widen and his jaw drops.  
"You know Kai Parker?" He asks. Stefan sits the other side of me, staring at me also.  
"Yes. We knew each other in high school. He..."  
"Whoa whoa whoa!" I hear a female voice come from behind me and I turn to see who it is. In the doorway is a pretty girl with long brown hair.

Damon jumps from his seat and walks towards her. "Elena!" He smiles at her. She nods and continues speaking, walking in my direction. "You know Kai Parker?"  
I look at her confused. How do they know about Kai? Surely he's in his 40's now. And he'd never even set foot in Mystic Falls before.  
I don't answer. I just sit there my mind going crazy.  
"Do YOU know Kai?" I ask her.  
"Not personally, no. But Damon does, and our friend Bonnie is currently stuck in a prison world with him." She answers, a sad look on her face.  
"A prison what?" I ask her.   
Damon butts in "A prison world. He was sent there in 1994 after killing most of his family. He's a complete psychopath, and our friend Bonnie is currently stuck over there with him."  
"I wouldn't be too sure about that..." another voice says from behind us. We turn to see a girl stood there with curly blonde hair.  
"Liv?" Elena says, standing to look at her. The girl was covered in cuts. "What's happened?" she ask's her.  
"Kai's back." Liv says with a serious tone. She looks at me, a frown on her face. "And who the hells is this?"


	8. Dead Inside

"So, you're telling me Kai Parker is here in Mystic Falls?" Damon growls. Stefan has explained to Liv who I am and what has happened. She's currently sat opposite me, looking me up and down as if she's trying to figure me out. I give her a soft smile, but she just frowns back at me.  
"He came into the Scull bar and started trying to make small talk with me. When I ID'd him, he attacked me. Thankfully Tyler turned up before I managed to kill me but I think he easily could have done."  
I sit shaking my head. This isn't the Kai I knew. Why would he do something like this to his own sister?  
"So, what makes you think she'll be able to help?" Liv scoffs, looking over towards me.  
"Well, we're kind of hoping she might appeal to his human side..." Damon began. Liv laughed loudly cutting him off.  
"He doesn't HAVE a human side Damon! God this is pointless! I'm leaving. I'll find some way of getting rid of him myself." She storms out of the house, slamming the door loudly.  
"Wow. SO dramatic..." I giggle, earning angry glances from everyone else in the room. Not appropriate. Ooops.

"So, the plan is, we try and find Kai and get Mia to speak to him?" Stefan asks Damon, not sounding convinced.  
"Well brother, if you have a better idea, do let me know." he huffed. He grabbed a glass of bourbon and drank it in one big gulp.  
Just as he did, his phone starts to ring.  
"It's Ric." Damon said before answering. The conversation was short, but it was clear something had happened. I heard the name Jo mentioned a couple of times. Jo. Josette?  
Damon hangs up the phone and starts explaining what has happened. Kai had attacked a girl and pretended to be injured himself to get taken to the hospital Jo worked at. When he got there, he grabbed Jo and kidnapped her.   
"What does Kai need Jo for?" I ask, confused.  
"Kai wants to merge with Jo and become the all powerful leader of the Gemini Coven."  
"But Jo doesn't have her magic..." Stefan says.  
"Nope. Because she hid her magic back in 1994, in a knife, which I happen to have hidden right here.." Damon says, walking towards a a painting and opening the back up. His face suddenly drops when he reveals the knife is no longer there.  
"Brilliant..." Stefan mutters and Damon throws the painting across the room in a rage. "Kai has Jo and the knife. He has everything he needs to do the merge!"  
"We need to stop him then. I can help." I say confidently, standing up and looking at Damon and Stefan who don't look anywhere near as confident as I do. "We were pretty close when we were younger. If anyone can get through to him, it's me." I responded. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A little while later we were walking into the same graveyard I had been in earlier. Liv's twin brother Luke had come to Damon and told him where Kai was keeping Jo.  
As we're approaching, Kai must hear us as he emerges from where he had Jo. I hide out of sight, waiting to see what happens. Kai looks pissed and uses his magic to throw Damon the other side of the anti-magic border which I had no idea even existed! Damon stumbles back over and glares at Kai who's stood there laughing at him, until suddenly Alaric jumps out and puts a gun to Kai's temple. I could just let this end right here, but something in my gut is telling me I need to help Kai. I need to stop them from hurting him.  
I come out slowly from behind the tree and shout over to Alaric "Don't! Please don't!" Ric looks at me as if I'm crazy. I wonder myself if I am.  
"What??" He says angrilly, cocking the gun that's pressed against Kais head. Kai is staring at me now, wide eyed and in complete confusion.  
"Mia?"  
Suddenly Jo emerges and starts talking to Ric, explaining to him that if Kai dies, Luke and Liv will have to merge. She thinks she will be strong enough to win the merge with Kai.  
With that, Alaric lifts the gun and pistol whips him, knocking him unconcious. I run over to Kai and check him. He's out cold. He looks exactly the same as the last evening I saw him. I softly stroke his face and stand up, looking at Ric and Damon.  
"Now what?"  
"Well..." says Damon. "Now, you tie him up on the other side of this border until we figure out what the hell to do with him!"  
"Me? I can't do that on my own...." I groan.  
"You wanted to save him, you tie him up princess." Damon says, throwing some chains in my direction. They land at my feet with a clatter.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Done!" I huff, standing up from the huge gravestone I've chained Kai to.  
Kai starts to stir, his eyes fluttering open. He looks up at me, the same confusion as earlier on his face.  
"Mia?" he says quietly, squinting his eyes with a frown.  
"Yeah, it's me Kai." I say, crouching in front of him. He still has those perfect features. Those blue-grey eyes, that chiselled jaw, that mop of dark brown hair I just want to ruffle. I give him a gentle smile.  
"How are you here? How are you.."  
"Your Dad put a spell on me when he sent you away. I think he must have linked us, because as soon as you came back, I woke up."  
"Why would he do that?" He frowned, taking in every inch of my face with sadness in his eyes.  
"Because I went to the house that following day to try and find you. To try and find out what had happened. Kai. Please tell me you didn't do this?" I pleaded.  
He didn't say anything. He looked away and his eyes bore into the ground he was sitting on.  
I stood up, shocked that he wasn't denying it. I never believed he could do something like that. Never. But it was clear he had.  
I stepped backwards.  
"Mia..." He looked back up at me. "I'm sorry." he said softly.  
I just shook my head and continued to back away. Once I was far enough, I turned and I ran. I ran until I couldn't run anymore.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days later, I'm sat in the Mystic Grill, drinking. Trying to wrap my head around everything that had been happening. I haven't spoken to either of the Salvatore brothers since I ran away from the graveyard. I've stayed in Mystic Falls though. I wasn't even sure why to be honest. I have nothing left here now. I've found out my Mum had passed away a few years ago after spending years trying to find me. In fact, there had been a massive search for me when I disappeared, but because I had been in Portland at the time, it was assumed I would be there. Lots of rumours were spread. One being that I had ran away with Kai. That I had actually helped him murder half of his family. The other, that he had murdered me. People actually believed he could have done that. To be honest, after the past few days, I wasn't entirely sure he wasn't capable of it anymore.

I took a big sip of my drink, the alcohol burning on its way down. I close my eyes, trying to switch off all the thoughts running through my mind. How had I got him so wrong? I remember the Kai from when we were in our teens. The Kai I shared memories with, who had told me he wanted to be more than friends with me. That Kai had feelings, emotions. The Kai I saw a few days ago, was dead inside. But then again, after 18 years in complete isolation, anyone probably would be.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here...." a familiar voice came from behind me. As I turn I see the raven haired man with piercing blue eyes stood next to me, a smirk on his face.  
"Damon." I say bluntly, picking my drink up and swallowing a mouthful, looking away from him.  
"I thought you'd be long gone by now." he said, sitting himself on the stool beside me. I stared ahead across the bar. He was the last person I wanted to speak to right now.  
"I'm glad I bumped into you actually...." He was still talking. "There's someone who wants to speak to you."  
I slowly turn to face him, a frown on my face. "What do you want Damon? If you want me to try and get through to Kai again, I can't. He's gone. He's not the same person he was when I knew him." I huff, signaling the bartender for another drink.  
"Well, you may want to hear me out, because there's been a few changes since you ran off on us." he grins.  
I look at him, confusion spread across my face. I'm not in the mood for his shit today.  
"Look, Damon. I don't know what it is you want, but I'm not interested in helping you again. The last time I did, it broke my heart. I can't put myself through that again." I hold back tears, biting down on my lip as I glare down at my glass.  
"He wants to speak to you..." He starts to say, but I cut him off.  
"I'm not interested Damon." I throw back the rest of my drink and go to stand from my stool. As i do I spot Damon glancing behind me. Against my better judgement, I turn to see who's there, and sure enough, it's Kai Parker himself.


	9. Til Death

"Mia...." Kai steps closer to me and I back away, knocking into the bar stool behind me.  
"Mia I want to apologise to you. I'm sorry. For everything. There's so much I need to explain to you. Please...."  
"No! You don't get to explain anything to me Kai! When I saw you for the first time in ages 18 years ago, you made me think everything was fine. Everything was normal! That we would meet up for coffee the next day like old times. Then what? You decided to just go home and murder your family? How does someone go from behaving completely normal to that?! You're a psychopath Kai! A fucking psychopath!" I scream at him. All the anger that had been building up inside finally released. He just stands staring at me. Unsure of what to even say. I turn on my heels and walk out of the bar not once looking behind me. 

I walk and walk until my feet feel too tired to anymore, so I find a bench to sit on and rest. That's when the tears come.  
I scream out at the sky in anger. Tears streaming down my face, my throat feeling raw from all the shouting.  
Suddenly I hear a whoosh as someone speeds past me, but I can't see who it is.  
"Damon? Is that you? I already told Kai I don't want to speak to him." I sob, my voice catching in my throat.  
All of a sudden I feel a heavy thump on the back of my head and my eyes start to blur. I try to open them but they feel too heavy. Then everything goes black.

——————————————————————

I wake up a little while later. I'm confused. What happened? Where am I?? It's pitch black and I can't really see anything. I'm tied to a chair in the middle of a dark room. I can't move no matter how much I try.  
"Hello?" I call out. Trying to listen to see if I can hear anything at all. It's silent.  
I close my eyes for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was going on. A few seconds later I hear footsteps coming towards me. I open my eyes, wide with fear as I see a dark figure approaching me. The person crouches in front of me and starts to speak.  
"Hello Mia...."  
I swallow hard, my voice catching in my throat. "H... hello?" I squeak.  
The mans face is close to mine. I can smell his rancid breath on me as he gets closer. He reaches a hand up and gently strokes my jaw line, then down my neck to my collar bone. I close my eyes, dreading what may be coming.  
"I'm afraid you've got yourself on quite the predicament Miss Michaels." He smirks at me.  
"Whatever it is you think I've done..." I start but he cuts me off.  
"Oh, it's nothing you've done. You're just collateral damage my dear." He grins sickeningly. I try to pull back from him but can't move.  
"Drink this..." he says, holding a small glass of liquid in front of me.  
"Is it... poison?" I stutter. He laughs and shakes his head.  
"No no... nothing like that. If anything, it will save your life." He chuckles, grabbing my jaw and squeezing, forcing me to open my mouth wide. He drips the liquid onto my tongue and closes my mouth making me swallow. It's warm, thick and has a metallic taste.  
"Now. Let's get down to business!" He grabs hold of my, pulling me up from the chair and dragging me outside.

The cold air bites at my skin. It's almost a relief to feel it on my body again. The man throws me onto the ground inside a circle of stones. He mumbles some words I don't understand and the perimeter of the circle bursts into flames. A few moments later I can hear a commotion around me and a familiar voice shouting.  
"Get your hands off me! Do you know who I am?!" It's Kai. Please let him see me...  
I listen to the conversation.  
"Of course I know who you are. That's exactly the problem. You're the leader of the Gemini Coven. OUR coven. You should still be locked away, not out and causing more chaos!" The man yells loudly.  
"You can't kill me!" Kai laughs almost manically. "You kill me, you die too!"  
The other man laughs in response. "Of course. That would be stupid. This is merely a message, to let you know you need to leave the rest of us well alone."  
"What are you going to do to me then?" Kai asks sharply. "Oh what? Another prison world?" He laughs, rolling his eyes.  
"Oh no Malachai. We have something FAR more compelling than that." He mutters some words and the flames drop down. I'm sat on the grass, hands and feet still bound. Unable to run anywhere. Kai's eyes are fixed on me and filled with fear.

"Kai!" I call out to him shakily.  
"Mia..." he says quietly. "What the hell do you want with her? She has nothing to do with any of this!" He shouts at the man.  
The man smirks at Kai. "No, but she's the only person you've ever cared for." He replies.  
"I'm a sociopath. I'm not burdened by things like guilt, or love." He doesn't look at me. He just stares angrily at the man in front of him.  
"Okay, so if for example I were to do this...." he walks towards me. Kai tries to move but appears to be frozen to the spot, unable to do anything but stand and watch.  
The man stands in front of me, looking down at me, slowly pulling a knife from his pocket.  
"No! No!" I hear Kai shout, but still he's unable to do a thing.  
"Now Mia, my darling...." he crouches down to my eye level, handing me the knife and looking straight at me. "Do you remember what that man said to you earlier?"  
Suddenly something clicked in my brain. Like a memory had come back to me that I hadn't recalled before. I remember a stranger standing before me a short time earlier, speaking to me. Telling me....  
I lift the knife and hold it to my throat. Tears pooling in my eyes as I desperately look over at Kai who is screaming and shouting. A look of complete terror on his face. Then I pull the knife along my neck, the sharp, cold blade slicing through my skin and my arteries. The pain last a few seconds, then I collapse to the ground and it's all over.

———————————————————

"Mia! Mia! Oh my god! No no no!" Kai collapses to the ground, tears falling down his face. She was dead. She was actually dead. All those years stuck in that prison world, wishing he could see her again, and now, because of him, she was gone.  
In a flash, the man who was stood before her was gone and so was the barrier that had been put up to keep Kai in place.  
Kai ran over to the girl, scooping her up into his arms.  
"I'm so sorry Mia. I'm so sorry." He sobbed, tears falling from his face onto her cold body. She was so beautiful. So perfect. This couldn't be happening. Not to her. She didn't deserve this.  
He stood up, lifting her up in his arms and carrying her, walking towards the Salvatore mansion just across the woods from where they were. His arms ached and his legs felt like jelly but he didn't stop until he got there.  
He kicked a foot hard against the door to try and alert someone he was there.  
"Damon!" He shouted loudly. "Stefan!"  
He banged again.  
"Okay okay! Coming! Geez!" He heard Damon's annoyed voice before the door flew open. Damon stood there, eyes wide with shock.  
"What the HELL did you do Kai?"


	10. Transition

Kai walks into the living room, Mia's frail body still in his arms, and carefully places her down on the sofa.  
"What happened to her Kai?" Damon asks again, accusingly. Kai doesn't respond. He just stands and stares at her lifeless body, wondering of there was anything he could do to stop this.  
"KAI!" Damon shouts loudly, snapping him out of his trance. He turns to Damon, eyes red and tear stains on his cheeks.  
"They killed her." was all he was able to say. "Bonnie. Get Bonnie. We need to get her back." He knelt down on the floor next to her, holding her hand, stroking it gently.  
Damon slowly walked towards him. "She's gone Kai."  
Kai shook his head slowly. "No."  
"Kai. She's gone. There's nothing we can do." Damon reaches to put a hand on Kai's shoulder but stops himself.  
"Whats going on?" Stefan appears at the door, a confused look on his face after hearing all the noise. He spots her lying on the sofa, pale and bleeding. "Oh my god!" He says running over to where the others are standing. He turns and glares at Kai, about to say something when Damon puts his hand on his arm to signal for him to stop. The two brothers walk out into the hallway, leaving Kai kneeling over the girls body, still unable to control his tears.

"What happened Damon?" Stefan demanded. He didn't know the girl well, but he still felt awful that this had happened to her. She didn't deserve for this to happen.  
"I don't know brother. All I know is that kid in there is completely heartbroken."  
"So, did he do this?" Stefan asks.  
Damon shakes his head, no.   
"Who then?" Stefan asks impatiently.  
"I don't know. He just said they killed her." Damon sighed.   
The brothers stood talking for a while, trying to work out what had happened. Suddenly, Kai shouted from the living room.  
"DAMON! STEFAN!" His voice was loud and he sounded confused. Both brothers ran through to see what had happened. As they came closer, they could see Mia lying there, eyes wide with shock. Gasping and grabbing at her neck, looking around the room anxiously.   
'Oh no...." Damon started to speak.  
"Kai. When you said THEY killed her. Who was they?"  
Kai looked in complete shock and took a few seconds to respond. He still had a firm hold on Mia's hand and didn't let go as he turned to the brothers.  
"There was a witch. One of the Gemini Coven members. He gave her a knife and she just slit her own throat right there in front of me. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't move. I....."  
Stefan and Damon turned to look at each other. They didn't even have to say what they were thinking. They both knew a vampire was somehow involved.

Stefan crouched down beside Mia who had pulled herself up to sit now. She still looked completely lost.  
"Mia. Do you remember what happened."  
She just nodded her head slowly in response.  
"Why did you kill yourself?" he asked, placing a hand on hers softly.  
"He told me to." She swallowed hard, her eyes were stinging and she was so thirsty.  
"Did they give you any blood beforehand? To drink?" he asked her.  
She frowned, then her eyes widened again at the realisation. "They made me drink blood. Before they took me outside, they made me drink blood. Am I.... What am I?!" she jumped up from the sofa, looking around the room in a panic. "I'm so thirsty! Why am I so thirsty?!" she cried, a pained expression on her face.  
Kai quickly put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. Her face, buried in the crook of his neck. The feeling of comfort immediately washing over her. Then another feeling. The thirst. The hunger. She felt the veins underneath her eyes pulsing as she lifted her head slightly, Damon catching a glimpse of her face and quickly speeding over to her and pulling her away from Kai.  
Kai stood in shock wondering what had just happened. Mia the same.   
"Oh my god. Did I just...." she pulled her hand to her mouth and looked at Damon who nodded at her. "I'm a vampire." she mumbled to herself, but everyone in the room, including Kai heard her.  
He stood staring at her. His hand slowly moving up to touch his neck where her teeth had almost been. She was going to bite him before Damon stopped her.

"She needs to feed." Kai announced. "Let her feed from me." He started to walk towards them. Mia moved behind Damon, scared of what she may do to Kai.  
"I can't do that." she said quietly, eyes wide, a terrified look on her face.  
"He's right." Damon said, turning to look at her. "If you don't feed, you'll die. For good this time."  
Mia took a deep breath. "But I can't feed from him." she said, nodding to gesture towards Kai.  
"Why not?" Kai asked, a sad look on his face. All he wanted to do was help her. Save her.  
"Because I don't want to hurt you Kai." she said, tears falling from her eyes.  
"You won't hurt me. It's okay. I promise." He moved closer towards her. Damon moved aside slightly to give them some space.  
"Come on brother. I think these two need to talk in private." Damon says, placing a hand on Stefans shoulder and guiding him towards the kitchen. "We'll be listening in, just in case." Damon said, nodding towards Mia who nodded back.

She walked towards the sofa and slumped down on it with a huge sigh. Kai sat next to her, turning his body towards her, a soft but sad look on his face.  
"This was never supposed to happen." Kai said quietly. "You were gone from Portland. You were safe, happy. I thought you would be married with kids, enjoying your life. All of this. Everything. It's all my fault." Kai spoke softly, his voice showing cracks every time he stopped to take a breath.  
"This isn't your fault Kai. You couldn't have known any of this would happen." she said, giving him a soft, sympathetic smile.  
"But I should have known. I knew what my father was like. What our coven was like. As soon as I realised you were here I should have..."  
"What Kai? What could you have done?"  
"I don't know..." he shook his head, looking at the floor. "I just wish I'd done something."  
He lifted his head back up so their eyes were level. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, reflecting the glow of the fireplace behind him. The same girl he had fallen for all those years ago still had his heart. And now that he had merged with Luke, all these emotions were coming back to him. Things he hadn't really felt in the 18 years of being in complete isolation. It had broken him, but now he could feel again.

"Please let me help you now." He asked, placing a hand on top of hers delicately.  
"I can't ask you to do that Kai. I'll find another way."  
"You're not asking me to. I want to do this. For you."  
Mia furrowed her brows as she looked at him. Something had changed. Something was different compared to when she had seen him a few days earlier. His features all seemed softer, his whole demeanour was different. Not so cocky. More concerned.  
"Please Mia..." he pleaded. She softly nodded her head, and he gave her a smile. "Thankyou."  
He moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her back to pull her into a hug again. Her head back against his neck like before. He smelt like the Kai she remembered. She closed her eyes, remembering all the fun times they'd had together before she left. She left him. He needed her and she left him. A tear dropped from her eye onto his neck.  
"Its okay Mia. It's okay." he reassured her, gently stroking her back as he held her, waiting for the imminent pain.  
She lifted her head slightly as her fangs protruded from her gums, moving to adjust the angle before slowly piercing into the thin skin on his neck. He let out a small gasp as the pain hit him. It didn't last long though. A couple of seconds and the pain was replaced with another, more pleasant feeling. He let out a soft groan as she fed on him. The red liquid dripping down her throat. A few seconds later she pulled away, licking her lips slowly as he looked back at her with awe in his eyes.  
"That was..." he started to say, but before he could finish, her lips had crashed into his. He could taste his own blood on her as their mouths moved together perfectly. She gently bit on his bottom lip, drawing a small amount of blood, sucking it up. His tongue gliding across her lips to gain entrance. Their arms wrapped around one another as if neither of them ever wanted it to end.  
Suddenly they heard a loud cough coming from behind them and quickly pulled away from one another, turning to the doorway to see Damon and Stefan both stood there with disapproving looks on their faces.  
"We leave you for 5 minutes..." Damon starts. Kai and Mia look at each other and smile, both letting out a small chuckle at Damons remark.


	11. Memories

**_Mias POV_ **

I can't believe everything that's happened over the space of the last 24 hours. I'm now a vampire and Kai and I kissed. Oh my god. What was I thinking?! But I can't help smiling to myself every time I remember it. How amazing his lips felt against mine. Had we just got caught up in the moment? Probably. But had I enjoyed it? Definitely.  
"You okay?" Kai asks me. We're both sat on the sofa again. It's early morning now and Stefan and Damon have gone to stock up on some blood bags for me.  
I glance over at Kai and can feel my cheeks flushing slightly. I give him a small smile and he smiles back.  
"Yea. Well, as okay as I can be I guess! I mean, I am dead after all."  
Kai lifts his hands up and rubs his face. He looks exhausted. "I'm so sorry Mia. This was all because of me..."  
"No. Please don't blame yourself Kai." I say, stopping him from continuing. "You had no reason to think anything like this would ever happen. But while we're on the subject of apologies, I think I owe you one." I look at him nervously, biting on my lip. He frowns at me slightly, unsure of what I mean.  
"You don't owe me anything Mia." He says softly, shaking his head.  
"I do. I left you. All those years ago. I just left and never spoke to you again and I can't help thinking that I had something to do with why you...." I cut myself off. I didn't want to finish what I was saying, but Kai did anyway.  
"Murdered my family? You can't blame yourself for that. That was all me. I mean, things definitely got worse after you left. I guess I didn't have anyone I could run to when things at home were bad. And I missed you. A lot. But things would have got worse whether you were there or not. My father made damn sure of that." He said sharply. Anger in his voice as he mentioned his Dad. I remembered back to all the times Kai would arrive at my house in the night. The times he had a split lip, or a black eye. How many years of that he had to endure before he finally snapped that night in 1994.

"I'm not making excuses." He shakes his head, looking at the floor. "Nothing can ever excuse what I did."  
As I look at him I can see his eyes filing with tears. He bites on the inside of his cheek to try and stop himself from crying. I reach over and gently touch his hand, causing him to look up at me with those gorgeous blue-grey eyes.  
"What happened a little while ago Mia...." he started. "I...."  
"It's okay." I cut in. "We were both caught up in the moment. Nothings changed between us Kai." He looks at me and looks like he's about to say something then stops himself.  
"Yeah yeah. Nothings changed." He says quietly. 

A couple of minutes silence passes between us before I speak.  
"So. We never got to catch up properly back in 1994. Do you fancy grabbing that coffee still?" I ask him, a soft smile creeping over my face as he shows that trademark smirk Is missed so much.  
"Sounds like a good idea. Hopefully this time no evil plans will stop us!" He laughs, then realises it's probably lot an appropriate joke to make until I start to laugh along with him.  
"Well, why don't we do it now? You know... just in case..." I say with a smile. His eyes light up and he nods furiously.  
"Come on then." I say jumping from the sofa. "You owe me a coffee Kai Parker!" We both laugh and head for the door.

———————————————————

**_Kai's POV_ **

As we walk into the coffee shop, I look over at Mia. She looks perfect. No one could ever guess what she's been through the past 24 hours. I can't help being even more intrigued by her now that she's a vampire. Vampires were something I never even knew existed until I ended up sharing a prison world with one! She had that same sweet smile she had when we were younger. When I had fallen for her all those years ago. She had been the only person who ever really tried to understand me. She always just let me be me. She never once tried to change who or what I was. I still remember that first time I showed her my powers. I was so terrified that she would run away and never speak to me again, but she didn't. She was completely enchanted by what I was showing her. Not the smallest bit of fear in those gorgeous brown eyes of hers.

I sighed to myself, probably louder than I had realised, as she looked over at me and gave me a questioning look.  
"Everything okay?" She asks me as we find a table to sit at.  
"Yeah. Everything's perfect." I smile.   
Only an hour ago, we had kissed for the first time. If you don't count that ridiculous attempt at kissing her just before she ran away for 4 years. But it was clear that she regretted it. That she still didn't want to be any more than friends. And if that was all I could have from her, I'd take that over ever losing her again completely.   
Those moments last night when I thought I was truly going to lose her for good were the most painful I'd ever experienced. Despite my years of abuse, both physically and mentally from my own father and most of my family. That I could handle. Losing her was not an option.  
When she had woke up, gasping for air, I thought I was dreaming. But no. She was alive. Well, in a sense anyway. But what she was now was better than not being here at all.

"You look seriously deep in thought." She says, reaching across the table and hooking one her fingers with mine.   
"Just thinking about everything that's happened."  
She sighs softly. "Kai. Please stop blaming yourself." She begs me, her eyes sparkling from the sunlight shining through he window we're sat by.  
"Sorry." I mumble quietly. "I just don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you. Again."  
She smiles sweetly at me, giving an understanding nod. "So, we do need to catch up. I know it's a bit late, but what was life like for your in those few years I was away from Portland?" She asks me. My smile fades and she notices. "Sorry. If you don't want to..."  
I cut her off "No. it's okay. I don't mind talking to you about it."

"Pretty much just after you left things started getting worse at home. I resented Dad for sending Jo to college and not me. I ended up as pretty much a glorified babysitter to the younger kids. I had no life. No friends. I guess I became a bit antisocial."  
She chuckled.  
"What?" I ask her.  
"You were always antisocial!" She chuckles again and I laugh back. She was right.  
"Okay. But I guess even more so. I stopped going out. I spent most of my time in my room listening to music. My Dad had even more reasons to put me down. I wasn't just an abomination. I was a complete waste of time and space in his eyes."  
I looked at her briefly to try and gauge what she was thinking. She looked sad.  
"Did you ever... I mean. After I left, did you have any girlfriends at all?" I quirked an eyebrow at her in response. It wasn't a question I was expecting, but I guess it was a normal thing to ask.  
"No. Never." I muttered under my breath, looking down at the table, embarrassed.  
"Hey. It's okay. There's nothing to be ashamed of Kai." She smiled reassuringly at me. I nodded in reponse and continued.

"So things were just about ticking over when you turned up back in Portland. I'd just found out that week that my Dad never had any intentions of letting me merge with Jo. He was too scared that I would win and that I would destroy the coven. Coven comes first, as he always used to say."  
"I'm so sorry Kai. I had no idea you'd gone through all of that. Life must have been pretty awful." She said, looking at me with soft eyes.   
"It was. And if I'm honest, just for a minute when I saw you in O'Reillys that night, I thought everything could be different. Everything could go back to how it used to be. When I got home that night, Jo was back for the weekend from college and I bumped into her in the kitchen. She asked me why I was looking so happy. I told her I'd seen you and we were meeting for coffee the next day. She just laughed at me. She stood there and laughed right in my face. When I asked her why she was laughing, she told me I was delusional. That you would be going straight back to Mystic Falls and things would be exactly the same as they had been for the last 4 years. She mocked me, telling me I needed to get over the fact that you were happy and didn't need me in your life anymore. That's when I lost it." I pause for a few seconds. Swallowing a gulp of air before I force myself to continue telling her what had happened that night.

"It was like a switch had flicked in my brain. I felt so angry and I couldn't control it. I grabbed the first thing I could, which was my Dads hunting knife, and slashed at her side. She screamed out in pain and started throwing more abuse at me. That's when I told her I was going to make all of them pay...."  
I don't need to explain everything that had happened after that. She knows all the details from the news she'd seen the following day. I look up at her. She has tears in her eyes. She thinks I'm a monster. Of course she does. What else had I expected?  
"I'm sorry Kai." She says quietly.  
"It's okay. I understand if you don't want anything to do with me Mia. I wouldn't either." I look away from her, ashamed.  
"No. I'm sorry that happened to you Kai. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. And for the record, I wouldn't have just left you again." She squeezes my hand and give me a look that tells me everything is okay. And for a moment, I believe her.


	12. Somebody That I Used To Know

**_Kai's POV_ **

_"Kai? Kai? Where are you?!" I could hear Mias voice coming from somewhere inside the dark house but I couldn't find her anywhere.  
"Mia! Mia I'm coming!" I shout out, desperately hoping she will hear me.  
I dart in and out of rooms, trying to follow her terrified voice to no avail. I stop for a second, taking in my surroundings. It looks familiar but different. I continue running around, anxiously trying to work out where she is. I have to help her.  
Finally I enter a room that seems all to familiar. Is this my old bedroom? It can't be. How did I even get here?  
I hear a whimper coming from the closet and run over throwing the doors open. There, in front of me is a terrified looking Mia. Blood all over her.  
"Where are you hurt?" I crouch down in front of her, trying to figure out where the blood was coming from. She lifts her shirt to show me a huge gash in her side, blood pumping out fast, the thick red liquid covering my hand. She's losing so much blood.  
"Mia! Who did this to you?" I plead for her to tell me, tears welling in my eyes.  
She looks at me, wide eyed and scared before very quietly saying those words I was dreading. "You Kai. You did this to me..." then letting out one final breath before closing her eyes.  
"No! No no!!!!"_

————————————————————————

Suddenly I open my eyes and realise I'm in my bed. Well, at least the bed I'm sleeping in currently at a local b&b. I'm covered in sweat. My bedding is completely soaked through and my breathing is erratic. As I sit up I look around the room, trying to get my bearings. It was a dream. Thank god it was a dream. I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.  
I start to slowly close my eyes again, drifting back off. All of sudden I'm brought back to earth by my phone making crazy noises. I groan, rolling over to grab it from the nightstand. My eyes are still blurred with sleep but I can just about make out the name on the screen. Mia.

"Mia?" I answer. Worry evident in my voice. "Are you okay?" I hear a giggle from the other end of the phone.  
"Of course I am Kai! Seriously, I'm a vampire now. I'm pretty much indestructable!" She laughs.  
I frown to myself because I know for a fact she isn't indestructable. But sure, she was probably a lot less fragile than she was 24 hours ago.  
"Sorry. I just.... had a weird dream..." I say quietly.  
"Oh? Want to talk about it?" She asks me sweetly. I hesitate for a few seconds.  
"Not really."  
There's a pause before she speaks again. "I just wondered if you wanted to do something today? I mean, we still have a lot of catching up to do." There's a hint of nervousness in her soft voice and I smile to myself.  
"Sure. How about a movie, just like old times?"  
"Sounds good. But I get to choose for a change!" She chuckles.  
"Deal." I laugh back. "You back at the Salvatores?" I ask.  
"Yeah, for now." She sighs. I feel bad for her. She has no family left. No one who used to know her even knew she was still alive, except for me of course.  
"I'll be over in a bit then."  
"Okay, see you then Kai!"  
"See you then." I smile and hang up the phone. 

**_Mia's POV_ **

I hang up the phone and smile to myself. Just like old times. I've missed this so much. Despite having plenty of friends since I left Portland, Kai was the only one who had always appreciated me for who I was. Never tried to change me. I always felt so relaxed around him.  
I finish getting dressed in my denim shorts and tshirt. I pull the hairbrush through my brown waves and pop a small amount of blush on my cheeks before heading downstairs.  
As I enter the kitchen, Damon and Elena were stood there having an intimate moment. I cough loudly.  
"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt..."  
Elena giggles and her cheeks blush as she smiles at me. "No it's fine! You're a guest here. Don't mind us!" She smiles. "Coffee?"  
"Oooh... yes please. Thanks Elena." I smile sweetly, taking a seat on a bar stool as she pours me a steaming hot cup of the brown liquid.

As Elena places the cup in front of me, Damon finally speaks.  
"So.... how did it go last night?" He asks me curiously.  
"Last night?" I frown in confusion.  
"Oh come on Mia. I saw what happened between you and Kai yesterday, then you both disappeared for the evening." He smirks.  
"Oh! No... no no.... we just went for a coffee. And the... kiss... we both decided we had got caught up in the moment and it wouldn't happen again." My cheeks start to blush thinking about it. It was for the best. Definitely.  
"Hmmmmm...." was the only response he gives as Elena perches on the stool next to me.  
"You know. He's changed a lot. Don't get me wrong, he's done plenty of unforgivable stuff. But when he merged with Luke, something changed. And then everything that happened to you yesterday. He was quite clearly terrified of losing you." She says, taking a sip from her cup.  
I just smile, not really sure how to respond to that. There was no denying Kai was clearly different to how he had been. He was more like the Kai I had known all those years ago. But what he had done, to his own family. It was still at the back of my mind.  
"I know." I finally reply. "I just. I can't forget what he's done."  
"I get that. It's hard. I mean, I've been there myself. Damon has done his fair share of evil things..." she glances at Damon who gives a sarcastic smile back.  
"But I've still seen the good in him. And I'd like to hope I've played a part in bringing more of his good side out. Maybe you could do that with Kai?"  
Damon walks over and stands beside Elena, clearing his throat before speaking.  
"For the record. We're not encouraging this. Are we Elena?" He looks at her, raising his eyebrows.  
She doesn't say anything but smiles gently.  
I start to open my mouth to speak but stop when I hear a familiar voice.

"Helloooooooo?"  
Kai. I smile and jump off the stool to greet him.  
"Hey!" I say with an enormous grin on my face. With that Elena grabs hold of Damon's hand and leads him out of the kitchen, leaving Kai and I alone.  
There's a brief silence before I finally speak.  
"So, a movie? Here, or....?"  
"I was thinking we could go to the movie theatre. If that's okay with you? It's been a while since I've been..." he trails off quietly.  
"Of course! That sounds perfect." I smile at him, heading into the hallway to grab my bag and jacket. He follows after me, looking down at the floor all the way to the front door. Before I open it, I turn to speak to him.  
"Are you okay? You've been a bit quiet since you got here and you sounded really worried when I spoke to you on the phone earlier." I looked at him with a concerned expression on my face. He glanced up from the floor and bit down slightly on his bottom lip. I could tell he wanted to speak to me about something but I was holding himself back from it.  
He shook his head and reached for the door, pulling it open and gesturing for me to walk through, which I did.

————————————————————————

A little while later, we arrive at the movie theatre. Kai lets me pick what we were watching, as he'd agreed earlier. We stock up on food and drink and make our way in to our seats. Just as we're about to get to the door for our screen, I hear a wolf whistle coming from behind us.  
"Hey sweetheart. How's about you lose the baggage and come have some fun with us?" A tall man with dark hair and a smirk says confidently. His friend next to him laughs and winks at me. Kai starts to move in their direction but I put a hand on his arm and pull him back towards me.  
"It's not worth it Kai. Come on. We'll miss the film!" I smile gently at him. He lets out a huff and follows me in to find our seats leaving the creepers back in the lobby.  
The film has been running for about half an hour when I glance over to see Kai looking anxious and shifting around in his seat. I lean over and whisper to him.  
"You sure you're okay?" He nods again and shoves a handful of popcorn in his mouth.  
I shrug my shoulders and continue watching the movie.  
A short while later he turns to me.  
"I just need to grab some more cola. I'll be back in a sec." he whispers. I nod and he disappears out of the theatre.

About 20 minutes later Kai finally walks back in. He seems out of breath and anxious. I turn to him as he slumps back down into his seat.  
"What'd I miss?" He asked me, staring at the screen.  
The rest of the film passes by. I really enjoy it and Kai seems to be laughing along too which is a good sign.  
As the lights come up I look over to Kai and notice something.  
"Kai. Is that...?" I stare at him, eyes wide. He has tiny red splatters on his face and as I look down at his white shirt, there's even more red there. It couldn't possibly be what I think it is... right?  
He stands from his seat and heads out into the lobby with me following after, completely ignoring my question. As we reach the crowded lobby, I grab him and he turns to look at me, a completely different expression on his face to what was there earlier.  
"What Mia?!" He snaps, pulling away and continuing to walk until we reach the street outside.  
"Kai. What did you do?" I ask, my voice trembling.  
"Those arseholes from earlier were at the food counter as I came out. They started running their mouths and invited me outside." He was still walking, not looking at me. Suddenly he stopped next to a narrow alleyway round the side of the theatre and glanced down into the darkness, nodding his head.  
As I stepped slightly into the alley I could make out two shapes on the ground. As I walked slightly closer it was clear that those shapes were two dead bodies, slumped against the wall. Both their throats had been slashed.

I jump back, hands over my mouth to dull the small scream I let out.  
"Mia..." Kai's hand touches my shoulder but I quickly jump away, jerking my shoulder away from him sharply.  
"I can't believe you did this. I told you to leave it. I told you it wasn't worth it. We were supposed to have a nice evening and you do this Kai? What is wrong with you?!" I shout a lot louder than intended. Kai jumps forward and puts his hand roughly over my mouth to quieten me. As he does, my first reaction is to kick him in the shins. As I do he shouts out in pain and jumps away from me.  
He looks up at me, anger in his eyes. In that moment, I really think he could kill me.  
That's when I decide to run. I run as fast as I possibly can, all the way back to the Salvatore house, locking the door securely behind me.


End file.
